A Fighter
by SensiblyScrewy
Summary: The Toymaker's face was drawn, tired, and lined with sadness. But there, in his watery eyes, was a sparkle of hope. "Go, 7... Defend them." An AU Awakening fic. Rated T because I'm just not good at rating.


_**So here's my Awakening fic for the Forum Friends... It's a bit AU, but I like to think that it stays within the movies boundaries. The second part was written today while I was sick, so that might be a little rough. I also think that 7 is within her boundaries, considering she's just been created, but that's for you to decide. Enjoy, guys.**_

_**I Disclaim.**_

* * *

_"A fighter has to know fear."_

**-Cus D'Amato**

_"I wish you wouldn't push yourself so hard."_

_"It needs to be done, my dear."_

_"At what cost? Your _life_?"_

_"It needs to be done.... That last little fellow took a lot out of me. Such an imaginative creature, so unlike, yet similar 5."_

_"You need rest."_

_"I cannot rest until 7 is finished. I must finish..."_

_"Be reasonable... You cannot keep going on like this. It can wait for a few hours. Rest."_

_"Perhaps just a quick nap. But then I must continue."_

_"Good. Besides, I could always... take your place-"_

_"Absolutely not. We've been over this. I do not want you _anywhere_ near the device. I will not permit it."_

_"This is killing you! I'm afraid to look into your eyes for fear I will be staring into death. You must let me-"_

_"No, Maria!"_

_"..."_

Sigh._ "I apologize for losing my temper. Please, do not ask me again, my sweet. Promise me you will not attempt to.. bring life to 7."_

_"Hum."_

_"... I'll be in bed. Wake me in an hour, if you would."_

_"Yes, dear."_

_

* * *

_

It all started with a flash of light.

Shutters opened and closed. Bright, dark. She opened her shutters once again, lettinglight shine into her optics. Things zoomed into focus as she looked around the room, instinctively making to move forward. This was when she realized she was hanging by her arms over a table top. Panic came upon her quickly at the thought of being trapped hanging there. She squirmed and swung from the strings above her. Maybe if she swung enough she could fray the yarn...

She let out a surprised yelp when a large, pink hand came from seemingly no where and gripped her by the waist.

Hand? How did she know that word? How did she know any of these words...?

She kicked her legs as another appeared, traveling above her to undo her bindings. Her squirming increased tenfold after the strings fell from her wrists. The hold on her waist tightened. She took it as a sign of attack, her tiny paws working to pry the fingers off her. A wary voice spoke, startling her.

"Careful now, _careful_. If you don't stop that, I'll end up dro- _Ah_!" She had given the hand that held her a powerful stab with three of her fingers. She was immediately dropped.

Free! She stood quickly, _too_ quickly, and stumbled to her knees. She looked up when she heard a chuckle. She now placed the voice with the kindly, tiredly worn face that stared down at her. Short curls of gray hair framed two pretty blue eyes underlined by tired bags, the rest of the hair was pulled into a bun. Below the eyes was a very small, round nose that bobbed when her petite mouth gave a whisper of a smile. Female, she realized. This was a woman.

"You're quite the fighter, aren't you?" the female said, a smile set firmly in her eyes. She brought a finger to her mouth, sucking on the wound she'd been given. "You needn't worry." she spoke around her finger. "I'm not going to hurt you. I created you."

Her stitched brows furrowed in confusion. She didn't understand. Created...?

Glancing away from the large being, her optics searched the area around her. She was standing on what her mind stated was a desktop, the beautiful wood scattered with papers. To the left of her she could see where the desk ended and a closed, deep mahogany door beyond that, while to the right there stood a window, it's dingy glass shadowed with night. As she twisted around, hesitantly turning her back on the- the human, heedful of those nimble hands, she stared in slight curiosity at the contraption before her.

The woman observed her wonder. "Ah, yes. My husband built that. He's rather good with mechanics, at making and fixing things. Used to be a toymaker, you see." The stranger's voice tilted into something of worry. "He made it to create you. Actually, he'll probably be upset with me for... waking you." Her blue eyes noticed the tiny creature's confusion. Her bubbling laugh surged forth. The other found that she rather liked this new sound. "He went into such detail..." she muttered. "I'll tell you what, I'll-"

She stopped speaking at the creak of hinges. Her wide eyes jumped from the opening door before pivoting back to the white doll on the table.

"Hide." the woman hissed. "Only come out when I tell you. Go on." she added when the little thing didn't move.

She didn't spare her a second glance as she turned toward the door. She kept a light smile on her face, watching with sharp eyes as a stooped form came into the room.

"Who are you talking to, my dear?" the man asked, curious eyes searching the room.

The woman stood from the chair in front of the desk, walking over to him. "It's nothing. I just happened to shut my finger in the drawer and was muttering to it. Clumsy me." The tiny doll hiding behind a pile of papers thought she was being anything but clumsy. She watched as the two continued to talk. "Forgive me for not waking you up, I lost track of time." The woman brought a hand to her mouth, covering her yawn.

Rubbing her arm comfortingly, concern flashed in his gray eyes from behind his spectacles. "You seem tired."

She waved him off, a light smile tilting her lips. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just looking at your notes. It's very interesting subject, this alchemy."

His face hardened. "Maria, you haven't been..."

"You mustn't worry so much, love." she interrupted him, ceasing his concerned tone. Her brow furrowed with tenderness. "One of these days it'll be the death of you."

"I'm sure the war will have a go at it."

Maria patted his face. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Though she didn't recognize it at the time, the small being that watched them was experiencing her first view of love. True love. She watched as the man drew her Creator into a warm embrace, kissing the dark gray strands atop her head. For some reason that she couldn't place, she felt as if she were intruding on something delicate. Something personal. The woman turned away after several long moments, taking a few short strides toward the doll's hiding place.

The boom was loud, her fall quick. The building shook around them and as Maria fell, the young doll in the corner felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. She _needed_ to protect this woman. This angel that had given her life. The ground quaked again.

She was off, forgetting her Creator's order to stay put. She didn't hear the man's cry of surprise as he stumbled and watched the little being shooting like a dart from her hiding place. Jumping easily from the top of the desk- three feet above the ground- and landing as gracefully as a cat. She bounded to Maria's side, reaching a small hand out and caressing her cheek. Her worried optics flickered about the woman's face as an eye twitched in a wince.

"7...?" the word hissed from the man's mouth. A groan escaping his wife caused him to blink quickly, kneeling down and turning her onto her back.

"Maria, what have you done?" he whispered.

There were several footsteps echoing up the stairs. The newly announced 7, though she didn't yet recognize it as her name, looked up sharply at the door from where the noises were coming. She then shot her fierce stare to the man from across Maria's fallen body.

"... Will...." 7 tried, looking surprised at the sound of her voice. "Will she be alright?" she whispered.

The man gulped, glancing at the door himself, before looking concernedly at his wife again. "I- I don't know... She was already so weak, and ill... The toll of the operation..." He bit his lip.

The doll visibly flinched. No, no, no, _no_. Some part of her knew that those words were a dreaded statement. 7 examined the woman's face again. Her optics dragged themselves back to the Toymaker. "Can't you... help her?"

He didn't get the chance to answer her. The door was thrown open with a bang and four humans burst in. A surprised 7 backed up closer to Maria. The Toymaker didn't miss the way she guarded her Creator's face.

One of the four stepped forward, staring between the man kneeling at his wife's side and the doll that stood protectively by her head. "A Walker passed by. It ignored us, don't worry. Heard a bang and we came to see what happened... You made another one?"

"I..." the Toymaker began, glancing at 7. "No. Maria... she..." He closed his watery eyes, bringing a hand up to rub his face. "She wanted to help."

The rebel gave a nod, taking this as an explanation. "She going to live?" he asked, eyes falling to the body in the middle of the room. He was not there to offer comfort, compassion, or any of the softer emotions. He was there to protect. Nothing more. It may have briefly crossed his mind to give the Toymaker a pat of condolence. To feel the fear the death of a warm, older woman that reminded him of his late grandmother, might bring. But it quickly passed.

"W-we need to get her to a hospital... a doctor..."

"Sorry, Sir. The closest doctor is two miles north and after the damage that Walker did..." the young man said, shaking his head. His eyes tried to pass over the alarm in the old man's face, but couldn't. He shifted uncomfortably. "... I'll see if I can find a messenger. I can't promise anything, though."

"I understand." the Toymaker choked out. "If you..." He took a deep breath. "if you could help me to carry her to her room? I can't do it myself."

The other man inclined his head, walking over to Maria. His dark orbs watched the small doll run from his feet to stand a pace away. He tried not to find it unnerving how her tiny eyes watched him as well, only with much more intensity. He knelt down, picking the tiny woman up and carrying her into her quarters. Her husband went to her quickly as she was set down on her ratty bed, lifting a blanket from the closet to place atop her. The old man's stooped frame slumped next to her unconscious form on the bed, oblivious to the pair of optics that watched him wonderingly from the doorway.

The Toymaker stroked Maria's face lovingly. "Thank you." he said to the guard.

Grief fleetingly found it's way into the young man's expression. "I'm sorry, Sir... I'll do my best." With a short nod he, his men, and his sympathy were gone.

The old man looked down to see the little doll staring up at him. She had moved to just a little ways beyond his brown loafers, her cloth face intense. It was amazing, the range of emotions he could see raging beneath her white face.

"What's going to happen to her?" came her surprisingly strong voice. He wondered where Maria had found the female voice box. A sigh escaped him.

"I'm not sure. It depends on the doctor." His tone was etched in sadness. His eyes shifted to his wife's closed ones once more, unable to stay away for long. A moment of silence breezed into the air. "... She wasn't meant to be your creator. I was." It wasn't an accusation.

"You... were meant to create me?" 7 muttered, her young mind feeling overwhelmed. "Then why did she do it herself?"

The Toymaker took on a thoughtful expression. "She was worried about the reaction I was having to the operations." he said, hesitantly.

The doll looked at him carefully. "Operation_s_?" she asked, picking up on the plural.

"Yes." His gray eyes locked onto hers. "From the others." He watched her stiffen in surprise. "Maria, she... she doesn't have a strong body. When she was young, she took extremely ill. Never fully recovered." Pausing, he bit his lip. "The operation is very powerful. I was always so wary, you see. So afraid she might try and do it herself to save me the pain..." His face crumpled, squinting eyes growing watery.

A drop of water fell to the bed after a moment, and 7 felt a spray as he wiped his eyes. She walked up to touch his foot, staring up at him. Her own optics were furrowed in curiosity.

"Tears." he informed her, sniffing quietly. He took his spectacles off, rubbing his face as he did. It was well a worn habit. "It's called crying." he whispered. "It happens when you feel a very strong emotion."

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. The only thing the tiny doll knew was that in her new world, this strange dark world where things went bump in the night and even those that created were imperfect... Was the deep tear raging in her chest. It threatened to overtake her. Unable to see the woman's face, 7 watched the Toymaker hold her limp hand and felt panic pulsate within her.

It was all so much.

* * *

The doctor came and went.

It was all up to Maria, he said. But what did that mean? 7 didn't understand. She didn't understand when the Toymaker collapsed onto Maria's body. She didn't understand why the humans covered the woman's face with the sheet.

She didn't understand what this 'death' meant.

All of the other people had moved out, leaving her and the Toymaker alone. He sat, fallen in a chair to the side of the bed. His hand was covering his brow, shadowing half his face. The dampness on his cheek could clearly be seen in the early morning light that shone in from the window. He'd been silent for a while now, ever since Maria had been moved from the room. The only sound that penetrated the quiet was his slow, methodical breathing, interrupted every now and then by a hiccup of a sob.

"What is death?" Her low voice pierced the air.

Except for his hand wiping the tears from his face, the Toymaker made no move to respond her at first. His red eyes looked heavenward, in silent pleading.

"It's..." he choked. "it's when a person... a soul leaves this earth forever."

7 backed up a few steps. Closer to the door. "They don't ever come back?" she whispered.

The man closed his eyes. "No. Never."

"And... and Maria..." Her optics begged him to tell her what she wanted to hear.

"She's gone." he rasped. "Gone, and... it's all my fault. I was doomed, yes, for the good of humanity. But Maria, my dear, sweet Maria..." He was raked by another dry sob. "God have mercy, _God have mercy_... I never intended for her..."

The doll was startled. Her young mind strained to catch up with all the emotions, these raw emotions, she was experiencing. She felt drowned and lost. Silence spread again, before she spoke. "What happens now?"

For the first time since Maria's body had been removed, the Toymaker's eyes met hers. He took in her resolute stand, and saw through her purposeful question and expression. She was scared deep down, only for some reason she chose not to show it. He should have comforted her then, he should have told her that everything would be alright. But he couldn't find it within himself to lie to her, so overcome with grief was he.

She was stubborn this one. A fighter. That would be useful in this decaying world.

"You must find the others." He sat forward slightly. "Six others, out there amongst the battling. You must protect them from the machines, 7."

The doll was struck by the pure intenseness of his voice. The words forced her to back away from the man towards the door, feeling a great urge well up inside her. And at that moment everything fell into it's place. This was it, she realized...

The Toymaker's face was drawn, tired, and lined with sadness. But there, in his watery eyes, was a sparkle of hope. "Go, 7.

"Defend them."

... This was what she was created for.

Before he could take back his words, she was gone.

* * *

_**Please, drop me a line guys. I'd love to hear what you think. Although she's one of my favorites, I have a very hard time writing for 7 some reason. Just so there isn't any confusion, the Toymaker is obviously the Scientist, and Maria is his wife. I apologize if you see another name besides Maria a few times. I changes her name half way through the story, but I think I fixed everything. Also, if anyone cares, the Toymaker's line "She's gone"- all through- "I never intended..." implies a bit to his dabbling in Alchemy and it's effect, possibly, on his religion. If I'm correct, it was considered dark arts, so I would think he'd be wary of his soul, and Maria's in turn. It gives a greater meaning to his line, in my opinion. As for Maria's name, it's a little shout out to Christopher Plummer. OK, I think that's it, rant over. Thanks for reading guys and leave a review if ya would!**_


End file.
